To ensure that a vehicle operator has depressed the service brake pedal prior to shifting from "Park" to "Drive" or "Reverse" in an automatic transmission, interlocks between the transmission and the vehicle brakes have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,610 issued to Pagel et al., Sept. 6, 1988, is directed toward an electro-mechanical device which disables power to the gear selecting mechanism of the transmission unless the brake pedal has been depressed.
It is readily apparent that electro-mechanical devices require that the electric power remains uninterrupted.
Other devices have included mechanical interlocks between the drive range selecting lever and the foot-operated brake pedal. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,930 issued to Viscardi, June 27, 1978. The device disclosed therein includes a pin and hole arrangement which locks the transmission range selecting lever. By applying the foot-operated brake, the pin is withdrawn from the hole.